Pile-elevator for sheet-feeding machines.



' WITNESSES: l WE/VTOR I Z. 0. Cariwrzg' 72%: I Br E. 0. CARTWRIGHT.

PILE ELEVATOR FOR SHEET FEEDING MACHINES. APPLICATION 511:0 FEB. 10, 1913.

Patent 6d June 1, 1915.

' 3 SHEETSSHEET I.

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' E. 0. CARTWRIGHT. PILE ELEVATOR FOR SHEET FEEDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, I913.

Patented June 1, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- -iklm WWW E. 0. CARTWRIGHT. PILE ELEVATOR FOR SHEET FESEDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB I0, 1913.

PatentedJune 1, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- I M \V////// 7- IIIIIIIIWH] trimaran snares arana orricu.

nnnnsr o. cnnrwarenr, or SPRING-FIELD, OHIO, AssIenoR or ONE-THIRD .TO Louis K. FISHER, OF DAYTOILOHIO, AND MILTON, OHIO.

ONE 'I'HIRID TO BYRON D. CAMPBELL, OF WEST FILE-ELEVATOR FOR SHEET-FEEDING MACHiNES.

Application filed February 10, 1913.

To all whom it'may concern.

Be it known thatI, ERNEST O. CART- WRIGHT, residing at Springfield,- in the county of Clark and. State-of Ohio, have 1nvented a new and Improved Pile-Elevator for Sheet-Feeding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention, which in its general nature has'referen ce to printing machines, and particularly to printing presses having means for automatically feeding the sheet to the printing cylinder, and while under ordinary adjustments of its parts, may be'readily combined and arranged to coiiperate with any of the automatic sheet feeding mechanismsin general use, it is more particularly designed for forming a cooperative part of, and particularly adapted for serving as a part of the complete construction of my rotary cylinder high speed job printing press disclosed in my co pending application Serial No. 7 47,375 filedon even date with this application.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide a means for automatically elevating a pile of sheets, that is simple in construction, can be encompassed in relatively small space, and which will effectively serve for its intended purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple, compact'and easily adjusted mechanism in which the operation of elevating the pile is automatically controlled by the height of. the pile of sheets in the .elevator itself as the said pile of sheets is constantly reduced.

With other objects in view that will hereinafter appear my present invention comprehends the pile elevating means for sheet feeding machines that embodies the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully explained, specifically pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1' is a central vertical section of my sheet pile elevating mechanism, so much of the rear end of my complete printing press shown in my copending application before referred to, being illustrated as is necessary to disclose a practical arrange ment of my present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof looking at the machine in a directionopposite to Fig. 1. Figs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1915.

Serial No. 747,379..

3 and 4; are diagrammatic views, illustrating two steps in the paper pile elevating operation or movement. Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section thereof taken on the line 55 on Fig. 3. Fig 6 is a detail cross section on the line 6-6 on Fig. 5, and particularly showing the pawl and ratchet devices by which the piled sheets is elevated. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the eccentric device on one end of a main shaft hereinafter referred to. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the pendent, hereinafter described. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of the pawl that cooperates with the pendent member and the ratchet wheel hereinafter further referred to. Fig. 10 is a detail perspective View of the calipering frame, the positioning of which, relatively to the paper pile being elevated, governs the progressive vertical feed of the elevator and the pa er pile.

eferring now moreparticularly to Figs. I

1 and 2 of the drawings, 1 designates a drivenshaft that is actuated by a main driving shaft suitably located at the feed end of the printing press frame. Adjacentthe shaft '1, and located somewhat below the normal top of the pile of sheets, is another shaft, 3, and the said shaft is disposed parallel with the shaftl. On the shaft 3, at the opposite sides of the supporting frame, are fixedly held sprockets 4:, of the smallest practical diameter and at a point beyond the frame and near one end the said shaft 3 carries a toothed ratchet wheel 5. 6 designates a reciprocating pawl carrying arm, one end of which is revolubly mounted on shaft 3 I and the other end of which is provided with a connection for. receiving one end of an eccentric strap 7 the other end of which is suitably mounted on the eccentric 2 of the device 8. Ratchet wheel shaft 3'also carries a crank 9 for hand operation. 10 designates a pawl shown in detail in Fig. 9, that is mounted on the arm 6 for engaging the ratchet wheel 5, and it is normally held out of engagement with the said ratchet wheel 14, which form vertical guideways for the trunnions on the ends of the elevator, that is mounted between the said guides as shown. The studs 13 also afford fastenings for. one end of the sprocket chains 15 whose free ends pass over the sprockets 4, at their respective sides, and with their loose ends hung from the said sprocketst 'unfastened.

The method of mounting the sprocket chains in the manner stated and shown affords the effect of gearing to diminish the amount of lift the elevator would receive from a full tooth movement of the'ratchet wheel 5, if the chains were connected direct to the elevator 23 and also admits of a smaller diameter in the ratchet wheel to afford the desired number of teeth.

At a point somewhat above the desired top of the pile of sheets, and at a convenient distance rearwardly of the forward edge of the pile, is aframe 16, of light construction and it is hinged on both sides of the frame of the machine. The frame 16, is extended forwardly to a point where one side thereof may be conveniently operated upon by a timing device, actuated from 'a driving part of the'power mechanism. The timing device, best shown'in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, includes a cam 24; that is mounted on the main driving shaft 24 and it supports the forward end of the hinged frame 16, the face of the said cam 24 being designed for permitting the said frame 16 to drop at predetermined times. The front end of the hinged frame 16 is lifted, at predetermined times, by a lever-like extension 17 that is connected with an arm which includes a pendent portion that carries a drop roller 17 that engages and is supported by the 0311124: on the main driving shaft as shown.- On that-side of the hinged frame 16, and immediately above the ratchet wheel 5, is pivotally mounted a gravity lever 19 whose lower end is bifurcated to straddle the ratchet wheel shaft 3 and thereby be anchored against pendulous motion, and the said lever 19 is positioned between the machine frame and the ratchet wheel 5 Grav ity lever 19 includes an are shaped abutment 20 having the radius of the ratchet wheel 5 and the said abutment extends approximately the full width of the ratchet wheel 5, it being of such lengthto practically house or cover the entire movement of the pawl 10.

21 designates a calipering rod and the said rod is pivotally suspended froma hinged frame 16 that includes a pair of transverse members 16-16". The rod 21 is mounted to follow the movement of the frame 16 and it extends the full width of said frame in order to be always in position for any size of sheets without regard to the position of the pile on the elevator.

For correct operation of the elevator, the power from which my elevator mechanism is served, for example the power shaft of my printing press, before referred to, is so set and so operated that th'em'ovement, of

the hinged frame 16 is such that that arm that carries the pawl 10 is operated the mo ment the hinged frame 16 is down.

The operation of my automatically operating pile elevating means, is briefly explained as follows: A pile of sheets is placed on the elevator shelf 23, and the latter, with the sheets, is lifted by the hand crank 9 on the ratchet wheel shaft 3, to bring the top of the sheet pile to the desired height, it being "understood the hand released pawl 12 holds the ratchet against back rotation and supports the elevator. The calipering rod 21 is set by means of its adjustable connection 22 to a position that allows the hinged frame 16 to suspend the gravity lever 19 at a point where the pawl 10 is just out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 5 while the caliper:

ing rod or bar 21 rests upon the normal top of the pile of sheets and supports the hinged frame 16 while it is at its down position. Upon the operation of the power shaft 1, to which motion has been transmitted, from the power shaft of the press as shown in my copending application before mentioned, the pawl 10 makes its full movement out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet. wheel,

- and it repeats that performance at each impulse of printing operation of the machine with which my elevating means is combined, until a sufficient number of sheets have'been removed from the top of the pile to allow with relation to the timing device of the.

hinged frame 16, a greater or less duration of contact of the pawl 10 with the ratchet wheelmay be takenradvantage of, and the amount of lift of the elevator at each impulse, be governed for different thickness of material being fed.

The foregoing described operation is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 by reference to which it will be noticed that the normal top surface level of the pile of sheets on elevator 23 has dropped; the calipering rod 21, by reason of its connection with the member 17 and the roller 17 that engages the timing cam 24 are down and resting on the top of'the pile which being below normal, as hereinbefore mentioned, has permitted the pendent 19 to fall far enough so that its arcuate portion 20 has pressed the pawl 10 into engagement centric 2 rotates in the direction of the arrow, arm 6 is forced downwardly, carrying pawl 10 with it until the parts assume the position indicated in dotand dash lines in Fig. lfrom which it will be seen that the above mentioned parts have moved the' ratchet wheel 5' over, the distance of one tooth (compare lines 25 on Figs. 3 ande) thereby rotating sprockets 4 and raising elevator 23 so that the paper; assumes its nor maltop level, When this movement has been completed cam 2% will have reached the positionindicatedin Fig. 41, at which time itwill raise the arm carrying finger l7 and consequently frame 16 will be'carried upwardly so as to disengage the calipering rod 21 and free the top of the sheet pile. At this time the parts assume the full lever position in Fig. 4, pawl 10 is freed from engagement with the ratchet 5, the further movement of eccentric 2 being of no avail for elevating the paper pile, it will readily be seen however, (as has'been previously mentioned) that should the eccentric 2 be. set back far enough so that it may get the advantage of its entire sweep before the cam 24 raises the frame 16 and consequently rod 19, the ratchet 5 will be rotated through a greater are zuid the elevator 23 be'subject to a greater degree of lift.

To lower the pile elevator, for renewal of the pile or other reasons, the same is readily effected by suspension of the pawls and the use of the hand crank on the ratchet wheel shaft. .From the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the

' advantages of'my sheet pile elevating mechanism and its complete structure thereof, it is believed will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention relates.

What I claim is:

1. A pile elevator for sheet feeding machines comprising in a combination with means for feeding off the topmost sheet or sheets at predetermined times; means for lifting the sheet pile to a normal level, operative mechanism therefor operative upon the removal of a top sheet or sheets for setting the lifting means into action, the said mechanism including adriving ratchet, a pawl, a pawl carrying member, an adjustable device for moving the pawl and having provision for timing the stroke of the pawl, means continuously tending to disengage the pawl from the ratchet, and a reciprocably mounted member held in loose contact with the pawl and coiiperatingwvith the sheet pile for moving the pawl into engagement with Y the ratchet.

2. In a pile elevating mechanism for sheet feeding machines in which is included ineans for feeding off the topmost sheet or sheets at predetermined times means for lifting the ratchet.

the sheet pile to a normal level, actuating mechanism therefor operative upon the removal of a top sheet or sheets from the sheet pile for setting the lifting means into action, the said mechanism including a driving ratchet, a pawl, and a swinging carrying member on which the pawl is supported, meansfor adjusting the carrying member to thereby determine the time of swing of the said member and the consequent effective stroke of the pawl, means for normally forcing the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet and other means that cooperates with the sheet pile for engaging the pawl after it has completed its thrust or ratchet engaging stroke to cause the pawl to-engage 3. A sheet pile elevator for sheet feeding machines that comprises in combination with means for feeding off the topmost sheet or sheets from the pile; means for automatically raising the elevator to bring the top of the sheet pile to a normal plane with respect to the sheet feeding means, the said elevator raising means including a step-bystep ratchet wheel controlled lift, an eccentrio controlled arm, a pawl carried thereby that is normally held out ofengagement with the'ratchet wheel, means for moving,

the pawl into operative engagement with the said ratchet wheel, the said means being set into operation when the top of the sheet pile drops to a predetermined degree from the normal level, and means fortiming the throw of the eccentric controlled arm that carries the pawl and the consequent rotation of the ratchet wheel and the lift movement of the pile elevator governed by the movement of the said ratchet.

ti:- A sheet pile elevator for sheet feeding machines, that comprises in combination with a means for feeding off the topmost sheet or sheets from the pile, at predetermined intervals; a means for automatically rasing the elevator to bring the top of the sheet pile to a normal plane with respect to the sheet feeding means, said elevator raising means including a step-by-step ratchet 'wheel controlled lift, an eccentric controlled sequent rotation of the ratchet and the lift movement of the pile elevator.

5. A sheet pile elevator for sheet feeding means; that comprises in combination with means for feeding olf the topmost sheet or sheets from the pile at predetermined intervals, a means for automatically raising the elevator to bring the top of the sheet pile to a normal plane with respect to the sheet feeding means, the said elevator raising means including a step-by-step ratchet wheel controlled lift, an eccentric controlled arm and a, pawl carried thereby that normally tends to move out of engagement with the ratchet wheel, the said meansbeing set into operation when the top of the sheet pile drops to a predetermined degree from the that intermittently feeds the topmost sheet or sheets off the pile; of a means for elevating the sheet pile to a normal top level, the said means consisting of a vertically swingable frame, said frame including a pair of transverse members 16 16", a calipering rod pendently supported from the transverse member-16 for engaging the top of the sheet pile and tending to normally hold the frame to its minimum height, a step-by-step advancing mechanism for lifting the sheet pile to itsnormal level, said mechanism including a ratchet wheel, an eccentric controlled arm and a pawl carried thereby for engaging said ratchet wheel, said pawl being normally held under spring tension away from the ratchet wheel, a-member that normally engages the pawl for forcing it into engagement with the said ratchet wheel, said memher being pendently supported from onefof "the cross members of the vertically swingable frame, and a lifting lever that engages the underside of the transverse member 16 of the swingable frame, and a timing mechanism that cooperates with and lifts the lever at predetermined times whereby to lift the member that holds the pawl in engage ment with the ratchet wheel to allow the said pawl to become disengaged from the said wheel.

ERNEST O; CARTWRIGHT. Witnesses:

Ans. L/BEAUPAIN,

HAROLD LARSEN. 

